George Membrez |
| Posted 2009-01-26 by Judy Wight Branson |
| The Star Tribune, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Thursday, October 27, 1994 Teacher, Counselor George Membrez Dies - It was almost 20 years ago when George A. Membrez Jr. realized that he was killing himself. In 1975 he decided to seek treatment one more time for drug and alcohol abuse, but only after he almost lost his job as a teacher at Stillwater High School, crashed through a police barrier, destroyed his family and burned down his farmhouse in Lake Elmo. His colleagues said he was like the mythical phoenix, "rising from the ashes to a bright, creative, productive world." The remainder of his life would be filled with years as an award-winning teacher and chemical dependency counselor. Membrez, 70, died after surgery for an aortic aneurism Oct. 14 at Phoenix Baptist Hospital in Phoenix, Ariz. "Many of his friends, family, teaching colleagues and former students still laugh today when recalling George's antics - his clever jokes, funny voices, strange walks and gentle teasing," said his son, James, of Santa Cruz, Calif. Membrez, of Prescott, Ariz., grew up in St. Paul and graduated from Cretin High School. He started drinking at an early age and often ran away from home. In the 1940s he played the saxophone, flute and clarinet in jazz and dance bands around the Midwest. Peer pressure from band mates started a heroin addiction. He was in the Army in Africa and Italy during World War II and earned a bachelor's degree in history from the University of Minnesota. Although he continued to drink and frequently called in sick, he held teaching jobs in Wanamingo, Minn., and at several schools in California. He returned to Minnesota and taught at St. Paul Academy for a year before he started a 27-year career as a world history teacher and debate and speech coach at Stillwater. He was also chairman of the social studies department. Membrez received six fellowships to study at universities and a Fulbright Scholarship to travel in India in 1967. He was runner-up for Minnesota Teacher of the Year in 1980, and retired four years later. The rest of his life was spent in the chemical dependency field "in order to make it through another day," said Jim Graupner, a history teacher at Stillwater. He worked with elderly and women alcoholics in Washington County and spoke at hospitals and colleges. He was finance officer and post commander of the American Legion Post in Stillwater. In Prescott he was a lobbyist for the National Association of Alcoholic and Drug Abuse Counselors and was named Professional of the Year by the Northern Arizona Association of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselors a week ago. Besides his son, Membrez is survived by his wife, Sondi; two daughters, Michelle Membrez, of Denver, and Georgene Membrez, of Stillwater; another son, Greg, of St. Paul, and three stepchildren, Shelley and Wesley McCune, of Lake Elmo, and Dawn McCune, of Lakeland. A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Stillwater High School auditorium, 5701 Stillwater Blvd. N., Oak Park Heights, Minn. |
Note: These obituaries are transcribed as published and are submitted by volunteers who have no connection to the families. They do not write the obituaries and have no further information other than what is posted within the obituaries. We do not do personal research. For this you would have to find a volunteer who does this or hire a professional researcher.
Questions About This Project?